Container for a number of articles



g 3, 1954 G. T. JENNER 2,685,366

' CONTAINER FOR A NUMBER OF ARTICLES Patented Aug. 3, 1954 N TEDQ TATE 2,685,366 commits on. A NUMBER OF ARTICLES Application April '7, issasrial'No. 154,517

Claims priority, application Great Britain.

1 April 28, 1949 2 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to containers for a number of articles and has particular reference to a container for two or more similar articles and especially for fragile articles.

It is an object of the invention to provide a relatively cheap container e. g. a cylindrical container which will give adequate protection during storage and transit to a number of relatively fragile articles contained therein, each of the articles being resiliently supported and protected both at their sides and at their ends. It is a further object of the invention to provide a container from which one or more of the articles may be abstracted without substantially decreasing the grip and protection afiorded to the remaining articles.

According to the present invention there is provided a package to contain a number of similar articles from two upwards, which package comprises a container and a strip or strips of sheet material bent in zig-zag or sinuous formation within the container and starting at and returning to the same point, or passing that point, to form a number of pockets, one for each of the articles, the zig-zag or sinuous formation being such that a series of alternate angles or changes in direction of the zig-zag or sinuous strip press directly or indirectly against the inner surface of the wall of the container or of a liner for the container.

The articles may be of any cross section e. g. circular, elliptical or polygonal in cross-section.

The container may conveniently be made for example of cardboard or of other fibrous material and may be stiffened e. g. by impregnation with a resinous material. The container may alternatively be made of other material.

The sheet material of which the pockets are constructed may be made e. g. of cardboard and the zig-zag formation of the strip or strips may be produced by scoring or creasing and subsequently bending the strip of sheet material at the appropriate places.

The container may conveniently be circular in cross-section and for the packing of ampoules and similar fragile articles this may be the most convenient arrangement. Alternatively, the container may be oval, rectangular, square or polygonal in cross-section.

The pockets for the articles may be formed in one or more lines or tiers, preferably on the same level.

In order to provide additional protection for the 2. articles parts of certain of the walls of the pockets, preferably those towards the center of the container maybe increased in height and may be higher than the height of the-article.

When the walls of a number of pockets converge, as in the case of a numberof pockets arranged around the axis of a cylindrical container, the folding or bending of the sheet material may be such as to leave a central vertical pocket to contain printed matter, e. g. explanatory mattor for use in connection with the articles. Alternatively, when the pockets are arranged in two or more tiers certain of the walls of the pockets may be cut away so as to form a sunk gallery to support leaflets of printed matter or the like rolled into hollow cylindrical form.

Following is a descriptionby way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings of two forms of container to accommodate'respectively six and twelve similar ampoules circular in cross section.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 shows a card blank which when creased and folded forms with the wall of a cylindrical containing six pockets to embrace six ampoules.

Figure 21s a plan view of a container (with lid removed) employing the'folded blank of Figure land containing six ampoules,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 2 with the lid removed and showing one ampoule in position in the container,

Figure 4 shows on a reduced scale a card blank which when creased and folded forms within a cylindrical container twelve pockets to embrace l, twelve ampoules,

Figure 5 is a plan view of a container (with lid removed) employing the folded blank of Figure 4 and containing twelve ampoules,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 5 (with lid removed) showin two ampoules in position therein.

Example I Referring to Figure l a rectangular strip of card about 19 centimetres long and 2.25 centimetres broad is marked into 12 equal pieces each about 1.6 centimetres wide. The card is creased and folded into a zig-zag which is then bent to form a star-like structure with the ends of the original strip brought together (Figure 2). This star-like structure is slipped into a cylindrical container of such a diameter that the star fits firmly into it and thus forms six pockets each of which will accommodate, grip and protect a 1 m1. amopule (Figure 3).

Instead of employing a rectangular strip of card, the third and fourth, seventh and eighth and eleventh and twelfth sections may be extended to form pairs of projections each pair formin a truncated triangle (as indicated in chain line in Figure 1). The projections are of such a length as to extend in the finished container slightly above the height of the ampoules (see Figure 3) Example II A cylindrical packing for 12, 2 ml; ampoules, circular in cross section and arranged in two concentric tiers on the same level, the tiers containing 4 and 8 ampoules respectively, consists of a cylindrical carboard box shouldered to take a slip-on cover and partitioned to form twelve resilient-walled pockets as follows.

As shown in Figure 4, a rectangular strip of card of appropriate length is creased and bent to form a zig-zag of eight sections, the width of each section being approximately equal to the radius of the box so that they may be folded to form a cross fitting snugly into the box to make four pockets. At the end of this series of sections is another series consisting of sixteen sections creased and bent to continue the zig-zag, these sections are of two widths, a and b, and are arranged in the order a b b a a b b and so on ending with b, the actual widths being such that when the a sections lie in turn against the walls of the pockets formed by the eight main sections, the joints of the b sections press against the curved wall of the box to form a rigid structure and the three pockets thus formed in each quad- I rant of the box will each grip and accommodate an amopule (Figure 5).

ihe four pairs of larger sections may be extended in height slightly above the height of the amopules (Figure 6) as in the previous example 8 and the b sections may also be extended (as indicated in chain line in Figure 4) though to an extent less than that by which the larger sections are extended the height at the edges of the 1) sections joining the a sections being greater than that at the joining edges of the 1) sections. In this way the edges of the partitions slope downwardly from the axis of the box to its circumference and all the ampoules are readily accessible.

The partitions between the inner and outer tiers and if necessary the partitions formed by the larger sections may be cut to form a sunk gallery as at H and 12 of Figure 6 to accommodate printed leaflets rolled to form a tube which when in place in the container surrounds the inner tier of ampoules.

I claim:

1. A package containing a plurality of ampoules or the like comprising a container and a single strip of sheet material in zig-zag formation within the container starting at and returning at least to the same point, the zig-zag formation being such that said strip forms a plurality of radially extending partitions which form a series of inner angular ends, and a second plurality of partitions which form a series of outer angular ends in which said latter ends press against the inner surface of the container, the ends of said second plurality of partitions opposite from said outer angular ends being pressed against said radially extending partitions forming a second series of inner angular ends, thereby forming a plurality of pockets, whereby said pockets grip and retain the ampoules.

2. A package for ampoules as set forth in claim 1 in which at least one of said plurality of partitions extends above the ampoules in order to provide additional protection for the ampoules.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Date 

